Abstract
This paper looks at differences in study abroad programme preferences collected from online questionnaires taken by two cohorts of first year Japanese university students (2023: n107 and 2024: n99). The rationale for the research was to determine whether students’ preferences i.e. languages, destinations, programme length and type would be affected by changes to funding amounts and methods. The 3 main findings of the research showed that first, popularity in ‘inner circle’ English speaking countries as well as in China and South Korea continued together with more interest in France, Spain, Mexico and the Philippines. Second, short- and medium-term programmes i.e. less than six months in duration were more popular than long-term programmes i.e. those six months or longer. Third, there was a slight increase in interest in exchange programmes. While recognising the limitations of the data, only first year students from one university and carried out over a two-year period, the insight into the preferences of the students revealed that the changes in financial support could be seen to affect the destination chosen as well as the length and type of programme. Expanded research including older students’ preferences, questionnaires at different times of the students’ university experience as well as follow-up interviews with students who did and did not participate on study abroad programmes are necessary to gain a more holistic picture of the determining factors in Japanese students’ decision to study abroad.
Author Information
Daniel James, Hiroshima Shudo University, Japan
Paper Information
Conference: ECE2024
Stream: International Education
This paper is part of the ECE2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
James D. (2024) Does Financial Support Matter? Scholarships and Study Abroad Preferences for First Year University Students in Japan ISSN: 2188-1162 The European Conference on Education 2024: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 1035-1044) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2188-1162.2024.80
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2188-1162.2024.80
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